Top police officer 'kidnapped in northern Nigeria'

Reports from Kaduna state in northwestern Nigeria say a
deputy police commissioner and his wife have been kidnapped. The officer
works in neighbouring Zamfara State but was abducted from his
car.

This incident happened as security agencies say they are taking
steps to address the security situation in the state.

The Kaduna state police
command has yet to confirm the abduction but a security source in the state told
the BBC that the deputy commissioner was kidnapped near a forest
between Funtua in Katsina state and Birnin Gwari town in Kaduna state.

Recently kidnappings have become commonplace along the Abuja-Kaduna road as well as in other locations around Kaduna.

In November last year former Nigerian foreign minister Bagudu Hirse was kidnapped in Kaduna state.

Laos now fastest growing ivory market

BBC World Service

A Kenya-based charity says that Laos has become the fastest growing ivory market in the world thanks to the demand from Chinese visitors to the country.

The charity, Save the Elephants, says that lax enforcement of laws on the sale of smuggled ivory is to blame. The number of shops selling ivory trinkets in Laos are said to have increased more than tenfold in the last few years. China itself has pledged to phase out ivory sales by the end of the year.

Is Islamic State regrouping in Libya?

Rana Jawad

BBC North Africa correspondent, Tunis

AFPCopyright: AFP

The head of investigations in the Attorney General’s office in Libya ,Siddiq al-Sour, says the so-called Islamic State has
re-grouped on the outskirts of Libya’s central city of Sirte under a new name,
known as the ‘Army of the Desert’.

He held a news conference in Tripoli
today to unveil what was billed as the secrets of IS operations in Libya.

In
it, he highlighted various discoveries from their interrogation of captured
militants. This included how they originally gained a foothold in Libya, and what
countries most of them came from.

He mainly blamed their establishment on
former local militant commanders from the now-disbanded local Islamist group
Ansar Al-Sharia, as well as members with links to Al- Qaeda.

Quote Message: The start of Islamic State’s [presence in Libya] is rooted in security personnel from Ansar Al Sharia, which used to be bankrolled by the Libyan government on the basis that it was an official entity that was nominally under the ministry of Interior and the ministry of Defense. SO, all their capabilities were then transferred to Daesh”

The start of Islamic State’s [presence in Libya] is rooted in security personnel from Ansar Al Sharia, which used to be bankrolled by the Libyan government on the basis that it was an official entity that was nominally under the ministry of Interior and the ministry of Defense. SO, all their capabilities were then transferred to Daesh”

This highlights an ongoing issue in Libya, whereby militias with a wide array of ideologies are still being bankrolled by Libya’s multiple administrations.

It shows how easily money and capacity can be transferred when armed groups or commanders suddenly switch allegiances.

Nigerian minister explains secessionist group ban

Nigerian Information Minister Lai Mohammed has told the BBC that a secessionist group was banned to prevent it from developing into a full-blown terrorist organisation.

He said the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (Ipob) were doing what all terrorists do - attacking the army, attacking the people and asking for money.

Quote Message: We don’t want it to escalate and for them to become like Boko Haram, that is why we are treating the issue this way, and the good thing is that the good people of Igbo land say they don’t want secession. from Lai Mohammed Nigerian information minister

We don’t want it to escalate and for them to become like Boko Haram, that is why we are treating the issue this way, and the good thing is that the good people of Igbo land say they don’t want secession.

Lai MohammedNigerian information minister

Ipob was formally proscribed last week after clashes with security services.

Zimbabwe's Mugabe likens rivals to Judas for seeking his retirement

Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has accused unnamed members of his own party of trying to push him into an early retirement and likened them to Judas, Reuters news agency reports.

Speaking at the burial of a member of his Zanu PF party Mr Mugabe, 93, said that some party officials supported him during the day while plotting against him behind his back.

Quote Message: Others are like those that Jesus spoke about during his last supper, when he said 'some of you eating with me here shall betray me'. The Judas Iscariot. They are here among us. from Robert Mugabe Zimbabwean president

Others are like those that Jesus spoke about during his last supper, when he said 'some of you eating with me here shall betray me'. The Judas Iscariot. They are here among us.

Robert MugabeZimbabwean president

Quote Message: They want to cause leadership change ... for the president to step down. I did not grab power. I was chosen by the people. It's the people's throne"

They want to cause leadership change ... for the president to step down. I did not grab power. I was chosen by the people. It's the people's throne"

According to Reuters, Zimbabwe is in the throes of a foreign exchange shortage which has forced some businesses to buy US dollars on the black market. This has led to a hike in prices of some basic goods.

However, Mr Mugabe, without providing any evidence, accused some people of manipulating the currency in a bid to "trigger inflation and cause panic buying."

Poverty levels on the rise in Uganda

The Uganda Bureau of Statistics said the latest results indicated that households relying on agriculture were most affected due to drought, disease outbreaks in crops, floods and the high cost of raw materials. Eastern Uganda is the most affected region.

KPMG fights to save reputation

Andrew Harding

BBC News, Johannesburg

International audit company KPMG is frantically trying to salvage its reputation here in South Africa. And it's proving hard work.
The top management has already been cleared out, and an independent investigation launched.
But clients are still jumping ship.

South Africa's parliament has become the latest to sever ties, citing "the damage to the reputation and credibility" of KPMG.
Other firms, like McKinsey and Bell Pottinger, have also been caught up in what some believe may prove to be the defining scandal of democratic South Africa.

Leaked emails and multiple investigations have fuelled allegations of massive corruption involving senior government officials and businessmen, conspiring to control and loot state institutions.
But the criminal justice system seems to be dragging its feet, and, with popular anger growing, foreign companies are being targeted, for enabling the alleged corruption.

In KPMG's case it audited the books of the controversial Gupta family's business empire - closely linked to President Jacob Zuma. And it became caught up in a murky struggle for control of South Africa's Revenue Service.

For years there's been good money to be made advising and auditing South Africa's government ministries and para-statals. But international companies may start treading more warily as the country struggles to shake off a growing reputation for corruption.

Sudan's Bashir complains of 'unjust' sanctions

Sudan President Omar al-Bashir has complained about the immense hardship the "unjust" US trade embargo has placed on his people, AFP reports.

His comments come just two weeks before US President Donald Trump is due to decide whether to keep the embargo, imposed two decades ago because of Khartoum's alleged support for militant Islamist groups.

His predecessor Barack Obama eased the sanctions in January and announced a six-month review which was extended by Mr Trump in July.

On Sunday Mr Trump removed Sudan from a list of countries facing a US travel ban.

Quote Message: "The unjust sanctions imposed on our country since 1997 have primarily weakened the state and its institutions, and caused hardship to our people immensely." from Omar al-Bashir Sudanese president

"The unjust sanctions imposed on our country since 1997 have primarily weakened the state and its institutions, and caused hardship to our people immensely."

Uganda murders: 'Register all girls in relationships'

Uganda's police chief Kale Kayihura has come up with radical proposals to curb attacks on women after nearly 30 of them were killed over four months in the capital, Kampala, and nearby areas, according to the privately owned Observer newspaper.

He unveiled his proposals while addressing residents in Katabi, one of the affected areas in Entebbe town, which is 37km (23 miles) south-west of Kampala, the newspaper has tweeted:

DR Congo navy 'fights rebels on Lake Tanganyika'

The Democratic Republic of Congo's government has used naval boats to fight rebels on Lake Tanganyika in the east of the country, Reuters news agency is quoting sources as saying.

There was heavy fighting near the lakeside city of Uvira, the sources told Reuters.

The fighting between the Mai-Mai Yakutumba militia and Congolese government forces is reported to have broken out at the weekend on the outskirts of Uvira, which is close to the border with Burundi.

"Since 5am (03:00 GMT) there has been an exchange of gunfire between the army and the Mai-Mai in Uvira," Lubungula Dem's M'Sato, a member of a peace-building advocacy group in Uvira, told Reuters.

A local resident has confirmed the fighting to the BBC Great Lakes service. He said that helicopters of Congo's UN.peacekeeping mission, Monusco, are
helping Congolese soldiers to fight the rebels who are reported to have
captured some villages.

The region is the world's biggest source of coltan, used in mobile phones and other electronic products.

ReutersCopyright: Reuters

UN troops have been battling to maintain peace in DR CongoImage caption: UN troops have been battling to maintain peace in DR Congo